Your excellency President Ruto, Secretary General Guterres, Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Ministers, Honored Guests. It is a pleasure to be back in Nairobi and to have the opportunity to share my thoughts with you today at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, where Africa is evidently championing a new vision for climate action. We are gathering just three days before the UNFCCC releases the findings of the first Global Stocktake…and let’s face it… we already know what it will conclude.
The world is losing the race to secure the goals of the Paris Agreement and struggling to keep 1.5 within reach. Collectively, we are not delivering the results that we need in the time that we need them. Business as usual is simply not working. We need a smart, pragmatic disruption and an integrated approach that delivers transformational progress and leaves no-one behind. That’s why I am calling on all parties to unite around a plan of action that is fully inclusive, a plan of action that fast tracks a just, responsible and well managed energy transition, focuses on people, lives and livelihoods, and fixes climate finance.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Africa contributes just 3 per cent of global emissions, yet suffers some of the worst consequences. Droughts, floods and failed harvests have exposed one fifth of Africa’s people to hunger, tripled the number of people displaced in the last three years, and is dragging down Africa’s GDP growth by at least 5 per cent every year. But there is another narrative that unfortunately is overlooked and needs to get out there. And that is Africa is also a beacon of hope, filled with potential and a global example of what pro-climate, nature positive development should look like. Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative is enhancing food security and stimulating green jobs across the Horn of Africa. The countries of the Congo Basin are protecting vital rainforests and helping preserve the world’s natural carbon sinks. Kenya is closing in on its goal of 100 per cent clean energy by 2030. And the number of sub-Saharan countries in Africa with significant installed solar power has grown 6 times in the last five years. This great continent is rich in the resources that can help not just Africa… but the entire world transition to a zero carbon, high growth future.
That said, we first need to deal with some realities. Almost half of Africa’s population still have no access to electricity, almost 1 billion people lack clean cooking fuels, and this energy gap will only increase as Africa’s population grows. These basic energy needs must be met, and meeting them with low carbon, nature positive solutions will meet Africa’s development and climate goals at the same time. And the key to making this happen is finance, but it must be made available, accessible and affordable.
According to the African Development Bank, $250 billion dollars annually is required to meet Africa’s climate finance needs. Africa only receives 12% of that amount… And less than 2% of that is going to adaptation. This is neither just nor equitable…and it is a big, missed opportunity. The World Bank estimates that every dollar spent on climate adaptation brings an average of 4 dollars in benefits. It simply makes sense for Africa to get a fairer share of global climate finance.
That is why I am calling on donors to close out the 100-billion-dollar pledge they made over a decade ago and to replenish the green climate fund. I will continue to press on these issues. I am also calling on donors to double adaptation finance by 2025 and for all parties to transform the Global Goal on Adaption from theory and text into real action and tangible results. We also need early pledges for the loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries recover from severe climate impacts that they are already experiencing. What was promised in Sharm El Sheikh, must be delivered in Dubai. In parallel, we need a complete upgrade, in fact a surgical intervention of the global financial architecture that was built for a different era. IFIs and MDBs must up their game. They need to raise concessional capital and lower debt burdens. They need to attract and leverage private capital at a multiple. And the multilateral, public and private sectors need to mesh together and work as true partners to accelerate the delivery of practical solutions and real impactful projects on the ground.
Ladies and gentlemen, the UAE has applied this model of genuine partnership to invest in clean energy projects in 70 countries around the world. We’ve always chosen to meet global challenges, by building bridges and working with like-minded partners on solutions in the pursuit of progress and sustainable development. That is why today I am pleased to answer the call made by African leaders to seize the opportunity of green growth. And today it is my honor to announce a new initiative between the UAE and Africa that aims to unlock Africa’s capacity for sustainable prosperity.
Your excellencies…The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Etihad Credit Insurance, Masdar and AMEA Power will join with Africa 50 as a strategic partner under the guidance of the UAE and African leadership to develop 15 GW of clean power by 2030. Working together, we will deploy 4.5 billion dollars that will catalyze at least an additional 12.5 billion dollars from multilateral, public and private sources. It is our ambition that this will launch a new transformative partnership to jump start a pipeline of bankable clean energy projects in Africa. This initiative will target countries with clear transition plans, robust regulatory frameworks and a real commitment to putting the necessary grid infrastructure in place. It will clearly demonstrate the commercial case for clean investment across this important continent. It will be designed to work with Africa, for Africa. It will act as a scalable model that can and should be replicated. And it will support COP28’s global goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030.
And here let me thank Kenya, the African Union Commission and the EU Presidency for championing this goal alongside COP28. Through their leadership they are choosing a path that makes economic and climate sense at the same time. And let me extend an open invitation to all Africa’s leaders to join us at COP28 to help mark a new, ambitious era for Africa’s sustainable growth.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as COP28 approaches I am determined that it is a turning point that delivers for everyone, everywhere. No one must be left behind. Climate change is a global fight…and it demands a global solution. If Africa loses, we all lose. If Africa succeeds, we all succeed. Progress for one is progress for all. Let’s unite act and deliver to turn rhetoric into real results. And let’s launch a new and optimistic future that puts the world on a climate positive pathway and offers an opportunity for all to prosper. I thank you all and look forward to seeing you all at COP28.
